Sens. Christopher Dodd and Richard Shelby

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), left, with ranking Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama at a hearing on Capitol Hill this week. The two are at an impasse on a overhaul of financial regulation, having sparred for weeks over the creation of a consumer financial...

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), left, with ranking Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama at a hearing on Capitol Hill this week. The two are at an impasse on a overhaul of financial regulation, having sparred for weeks over the creation of a consumer financial... (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), left, with ranking Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama at a hearing on Capitol Hill this week. The two are at an impasse on a overhaul of financial regulation, having sparred for weeks over the creation of a consumer financial...